This invention pertains to a polishing pad comprising a composite window material for use with in situ chemical-mechanical polishing detection methods.
Chemical-mechanical polishing (xe2x80x9cCMPxe2x80x9d) processes are used in the manufacturing of microelectronic devices to form flat surfaces on semiconductor wafers, field emission displays, and many other microelectronic substrates. For example, the manufacture of semiconductor devices generally involves the formation of various process layers, selective removal or patterning of portions of those layers, and deposition of yet additional process layers above the surface of a semiconducting substrate to form a semiconductor wafer. The process layers can include, by way of example, insulation layers, gate oxide layers, conductive layers, and layers of metal or glass, etc. It is generally desirable in certain steps of the wafer process that the uppermost surface of the process layers be planar, i.e., flat, for the deposition of subsequent layers. CMP is used to planarize process layers wherein a deposited material, such as a conductive or insulating material, is polished to planarize the wafer for subsequent process steps.
In a typical CMP process, a wafer is mounted upside down on a carrier in a CMP tool. A force pushes the carrier and the wafer downward toward a polishing pad. The carrier and the wafer are rotated above the rotating polishing pad on the CMP tool""s polishing table. A polishing composition (also referred to as a polishing slurry) generally is introduced between the rotating wafer and the rotating polishing pad during the polishing process. The polishing composition typically contains a chemical that interacts with or dissolves portions of the uppermost wafer layer(s) and an abrasive material that physically removes portions of the layer(s). The wafer and the polishing pad can be rotated in the same direction or in opposite directions, whichever is desirable for the particular polishing process being carried out. The carrier also can oscillate across the polishing pad on the polishing table.
In polishing the surface of a wafer, it is often advantageous to monitor the polishing process in situ. One method of monitoring the polishing process in situ involves the use of a polishing pad having an aperture or window. The aperture or window provides a portal through which light can pass to allow the inspection of the wafer surface during the polishing process. Polishing pads having apertures and windows are known and have been used to polish substrates, such as the surface of semiconductor devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,760 discloses a pad having a transparent window formed from a solid, uniform polymer, which has no intrinsic ability to absorb or transport slurry. U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,651 discloses a polishing pad wherein a portion of the pad has been removed to provide an aperture through which light can pass. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,893,796 and 5,964,643 disclose removing a portion of a polishing pad to provide an aperture and placing a transparent polyurethane or quartz plug in the aperture to provide a transparent window, or removing a portion of the backing of a polishing pad to provide a translucency in the pad. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,171,181 and 6,387,312 disclose a polishing pad having a transparent region that is formed by solidifying a flowable material (e.g., polyurethane) at a rapid rate of cooling.
Only a few materials have been disclosed as useful for polishing pad windows. U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,760 discloses the use of a solid piece of polyurethane. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,893,796 and 5,964,643 disclose the use of either a polyurethane plug or a quartz insert. U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,242 discloses a polishing pad with a window comprising either polyurethane or a clear plastic such as Clariflex(trademark) tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene-co-vinylidene fluoride terpolymer sold by Westlake. Polishing pad windows made of a solid polyurethane are easily scratched during chemical-mechanical polishing, resulting in a steady decrease of the optical transmittance during the lifetime of the polishing pad. This is particularly disadvantageous because the settings on the endpoint detection system must be constantly adjusted to compensate for the loss in optical transmittance. In addition, pad windows, such as solid polyurethane windows, typically have a slower wear rate than the remainder of the polishing pad, resulting in the formation of a xe2x80x9clumpxe2x80x9d in the polishing pad, which leads to undesirable polishing defects. To address some of these problems, WO 01/683222 discloses a window having a discontinuity that increases the wear rate of the window during CMP. The discontinuity purportedly is generated in the window material by incorporating into the window either a blend of two immiscible polymers or a dispersion of solid, liquid, or gas particles.
While many of the known window materials are suitable for their intended use, there remains a need for effective polishing pads having translucent regions that can be produced using efficient and inexpensive methods and provide constant light transmissivity over the lifetime of the polishing pad. The invention provides such a polishing pad, as well as methods of its use. These and other advantages of the present invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.
The invention provides a polishing pad for chemical-mechanical polishing comprising a transparent window. The transparent window has a total light transmittance of about 10% or more at a wavelength in the range of about 200 nm to about 10,000 nm. The transparent window comprises a polymer resin having a first index of refraction at a particular wavelength and an inorganic material having a second index of refraction at the same wavelength. The difference between the first and second indices of refraction (i.e., the difference when measured using the same wavelength of light) desirably is about 0.3 or less. The invention further provides a chemical-mechanical polishing apparatus and a method of polishing a workpiece. The CMP apparatus comprises (a) a platen that rotates, (b) a polishing pad of the invention, and (c) a carrier that holds a workpiece to be polished by contacting the rotating polishing pad. The method of polishing comprises the steps of (i) providing a polishing pad of the invention, (ii) contacting a workpiece with the polishing pad, and (iii) moving the polishing pad relative to the workpiece to abrade the workpiece and thereby polish the workpiece.